The story
- Latin · derived fromvarius
- Middle English · inherited fromvariolas pl“pustules, pocks”
- English todayvariola
From Middle English variolas pl (“pustules, pocks”), from Medieval Latin or Medical Latin variola (“infectious disease causing pustules; pox”), from Latin varius. Doublet of variole.
Words from the same roots
Latinvarius all →
variousvairvari-variegatevariolitevariometer
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.